Today we visited Chinchero which was a palace or temple that still has the Incan foundations.
But the top is now all a Spanish church.
It was a pretty nice church and had the entire roof painted including the cross beams. They were preparing for mass. The services here are in Chechya.
There was a noisy bird sitting on top of the bell tower.
There is an amazing view on one side.
We were not supposed to spend any time in Juliaca, but we wound up spending over an hour there admiring their potholes.
They were impressive even by Edmonton standards.
Our double decker bus travelled at an average speed of 4km/h in a zigzag pattern.
Here is a video of our progress. After the first cough the camera is braced against the bus, so all of the sudden jerks are the wheels settling into potholes.
We got stuck twice. There were tires everywhere in the middle of the road. I’m not sure if they were being used to mark the worst parts, or if they fell off and just got left where they were.
The locals seemed to be having surprisingly little trouble.
I guess being lightweight helps even if you have tiny wheels.
Believe it or not, this is a paved asphalt road, with full curb, gutter and storm sewer.
The red pebbles making the mud seem to be the result of repeated failed attempts to patch the holes.
In the Chivay region the prickly pear cactus is farmed. Partially for its fruit.
This is the fruit pealed for eating.
Here it is cut open. It tastes kind of melony, but with lots of seeds.
But they also farm them because they attract bugs, which are ground up and used to dye clothing.
The church is built out of sillar volcanic stone.
The stone is very soft and easy to carve.
This church had definite Peruvian touches
Including pineapples.
And other small birds.
I’m not sure what type of birds these were to represent.
There was another last supper featuring guinea pig and corn, but the painting isn’t as nice as the one in Lima.
This church had a Jesus Cautivo statue.
This morning we went to Colca Canyon.
To look for condors.
We saw lots of other birds while waiting.
And heard even more.
There were big hummingbirds. Apparently they can grow up to 20cm here!
They drink the nectar from these purple flowers.
These are their nests.
The cactuses they nest in are think and brambled.
But their flowers are very pretty.
There were also funky bugs.
![image_thumb3[1]](https://kerrimatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/image_thumb311.png "image_thumb3[1]")
About 9:15 AM clouds started to form in the canyon.
Then it started rising upward.
It is these updrafts that the condors ride. They nest high in the cliffs, then glide slowly in circles as the drafts take them upward. This saves energy because they don’t have to flap their giant wings.
Condors are the world’s second largest bird by wingspan, averaging about 3m.
At this viewpoint, you could barely see anything through the crowd. But then two large condors flew right past us. We did not have the camera out.
The white patches on the wings don’t appear until they are adults. This one is probably a male because they are very prominent.
You can also tell he is a male because he has a comb on the back of his head.
The heads are bald and quite ugly looking, so it’s OK we didn’t get a picture up close.
They are very popular as a symbol, and are on the coat of arms of Ecuador, Chile, Columbia, Bolivia and Peru.
This is because they look very majestic flying (and not flapping) and because they mate for life.
